


Just My Boyfriend, I Guess

by HarlistonXgaming



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, Modern Era, Tumblr Prompt, or a threat of one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 12:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10593798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarlistonXgaming/pseuds/HarlistonXgaming
Summary: Really, Arthur should have known he shouldn't have snuck around like that. He should have known by now, the only way he and Merlin got things done right was when they were straight forward with each other. But of course, he hadn't realize that. Not in time, at least.Based of the Tumblr post right here: https://oopsprompts.tumblr.com/post/158923599833/i-love-you-well-youre-really-bad-at-it





	

Arthur was horrible with dates. Absolutely clueless. Merlin was well aware of his boyfriend's inability to remember anything personal when it came to that. But he had hoped that after last years disaster of him ignoring Merlin for work on their anniversary would have been a clear message of 'Hey idiot, write this stuff down'. Well, Merlin was the idiot for thinking Arthur cared that much about him. About them. Their relationship. Obviously he didn't mind hurting Merlin all that much, or he would have put it on his bloody phone like Merlin told him to. 

The night before Merlin had given plenty of hints, saying how excited he was for tomorrow, how glad he was that they've had each other for so long. When he fell asleep that morning he had really thought Arthur would get it right this time. But when he woke up in the morning? No Arthur in sight. A text on his phone saying he had to go into work early. That was all he got from him. But Merlin was not going to sit alone on what was meant to be a special day, not again! No. He was going to confront Arthur, because he was tired of Arthur being so... Relaxed about their relationship lately. Acting like it didn't matter, like it was second to everything else. 

Marching out of the living room where he had originally been laid sprawled out frustrated, Merlin tugged his jacket and grabbed his keys, driving over to Arthur's work. His brain distracted from logic by the annoyance he felt with Arthur. He was going to give him a piece of his mind, and if Arthur was done with him, well... He'd deal with it.  
When he got into the building Gwen- Arthur's coworker and Merlin's friend- smiled over at him, but her smile immediately went of one of happiness to one of panic. 

"Merlin, hey! Oh, it's so good to see you, come here for a moment-" Merlin was too distracted by his mission of finding Arthur to notice that Gwen was acting strange as she tried to lead him away from Arthur's office. 

"Sorry, Gwen. In a hurry." He cut her off, pulling his arm out of her hand before marching past some equally as worried looking staff members. 

Ignoring them, Merlin pushed the door to Arthur's office open quite loudly, startling the man who was bent down, looking through a drawer. "Hello-?" Arthur said as he looked up, not sounding all that pleased at having someone interrupt him, but that look dropped when he realized it was Merlin standing there looking furious with him, arms crossed. 

"Hello to you too, Arthur!" He said, his tone upset and slightly hurt. "What're you doing at work? I thought you had the day off?" 

Arthur hesitated for a long moment before responding. "I-I figured I should come in, get some reports in early... Is something wrong?" 

"Is something wrong? Oh, I don't know, Arthur. Depends on what you're about to say to me." Merlin said, his eyes narrowed over at him. 

Arthur winced at the harshness of his look, though he didn't look all that confused. But Merlin wasn't focused on that now. 

"Just gonna say that... I love you?" He told him, his face clearly showing he knew he had to have had the wrong answer.

"Oh, do you now? Well, you're pretty fucking horrible at it, then!" Merlin cried out, all of his frustrations with how their relationship had been lately coming out at once. It went further than just him forgetting. "I mean, all you had to do was put it in your bloody calendar! I didn't even need a gift, just wanted you to remember! Maybe be excited that we've been together for two years now, but I guess that's too much to ask, seeing as to you I'm 'just your boyfriend, I guess'." 

That's what he had said to somebody who had flirted with him at a bar. And Arthur looked just as terrified as Merlin felt about this sudden explosion of anger over their relationship. But, the past few weeks had felt like Arthur was just as distant with him as they were when they just met. 

"Merlin, calm down, just- let me do something before you continue to yell at me some more?" Arthur pleaded, slowly edging back towards his desk. Once he saw that Merlin wasn't going to get more mad at him, Arthur ducked down, unlocking what seemed like a file drawer to him. 

"Christ, Arthur! I-I can't even talk to you about it! You're going to fill out forms while I try to talk to you about our relationship? I can't do this with you anymore-! You're- you-" 

Arthur scrambled as Merlin spoke, his face bright red and horrified at what the situation was, but he didn't stop going through the folder as Merlin spoke, enraging him even more. He made a relieved noise when he found what he had been looking for, cutting Merlin off before he could work himself up, saying something they might both regret. 

"What I'm trying to do is propose, you idiot!" Arthur cried out, as he fumbled to open the box in his hand, to show him as proof for what he was saying. "God- please don't break up with me! I swear, I didn't forget our anniversary. I mean, it looks like I did, but I had intended it to look like I did because I wanted to really surprise you. I was acting like such an arse this week because, well, I thought that you might have seen the receipt I had for the ring and so I tried to act like we weren't serious, so wouldn't know, but really all I wanted was... Well, I wanted you to marry me." Arthur closed off, realizing that he was rambling horribly, his hand practically shaking as he held the ring out to Merlin, propping himself up some so he was only down on one knee. 

Once those first few words came out of Arthur's mouth, well, Merlin's brain sort of malfunctioned. He had been on the verge of telling him he couldn't be with him like this anymore, and well Arthur did... That. He stared down at him wordlessly for a long while, lost for just quite what to say, because this wasn't how a proposal was meant to go. 

"I... I hadn't seen the receipt for the ring." Merlin managed to finally get some sort of words out, before his brain started to start to function again. "Oh god, I hadn't seen it. I just, well, I thought you were trying to break us off or something and you were- Oh god. I'm such an idiot, and you were trying to be romantic-!" He said, his eyes welling up with tears, but this time not because he thought he was going to break up with him. "And now I've left you there on the floor, crap, Arthur." He said, falling down to his knees to tug him into a desperate kiss. "Of course I'll marry you-" He said as he peppered his mouth with kisses, Arthur's heart soaring up when he heard those words, the indescribable joy that flowed through him mirroring the love and relief that was written all over Merlin's face.

Arthur was tugged into a tight hug by Merlin, his head burying in Arthur's shoulder when his arms wrapped around him. 

"I can't believe you thought making me think you forgot us and that you weren't committed was a good way to propose to me." Merlin sniffled. 

Arthur might have had a few tears in his eyes. Having the love of his life almost loudly dump him, and then say yes to marrying him all within a matter of minutes was too much to handle. 

"It seemed like a good plan. I was going to have you think I forgot, Gwen was going to take you out of the house, buy you a coffee while you got mad at me. When you got back, I was going to have a romantic night set up. Bath ready, wine, nice dinner and dessert. Then I was going to propose to you." Arthur explained softly into his neck, clutching him tightly against him. "I didn't realize you were so upset about it. I'm sorry. I really do love you." 

Merlin nodded, a bit lost for words as he was held close in the arms of the man he loved, so very relieved that Arthur wasn't done with them. That he hadn't let Merlin say what he was about to because he had been angry. "I love you too. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions like that... I, I shouldn't have done that."

"It's not your fault." Arthur said, pulling back slowly from their embrace, his hand going to rest on Merlin's lightly tear stained cheeks. "I could never, ever get tired of being with you. I'm still so amazed that I've got you." He said, taking Merlin's hand so that he could put the ring onto it. "And I don't plan on ever losing you, so if I ever make you upset like that, you've got to tell me about it." 

Merlin nodded wordlessly as he stared at the ring on his hand, huffing out a laugh as he caught Arthur back in a kiss. "You're horrible at romance. But I love you. And I'm never leaving you." He promised softly against his lips, knowing that no matter what Arthur did, and no matter what he might yell at him in the future, he could never love someone quite like he loved him, and he could never leave him like that.


End file.
